fuller



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(Nb Model.)

L. K. FULLER. REEDORGANYSTOPAOTION.

No. 246,490. Patented Aug. 30,1881.

INVENTOR.

AT T EST 1 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' L. K. FULLER.

- REED ORGAN STOP ACTION.

N0.- 246,490. Patented Aug-. 3'0,1881.

\ I l I I'l W .INVENTDR."

ATTESTl Wm-v Q /h. 05mm,

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE'.

LEVI K. FULLER, OF BRATTLEBOBOUGH, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR- TO J. ESTEY 8t 00., OF SAME PLACE.

REED-ORGAN STOP-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 246,490, dated August 30, 1881'.

Application filed October 6, 1880. (No model.)

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEVI K. FULLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brattleborough, in the county of Windham and State of Vermont, have invented certain Improvements in Reed-Organs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in part to the mech anism for operating the swells and dampers or mutes through the medium of the stop pulls or knobs and knee or foot swells and levers, and partly in the octave-coupler mechanism, all as will be niore'particularly hereinafter set forth. 1

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the portion of the upper part of an organ embodying the stop mechanism, reed-cells, &c. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken in the plane of the line 00 w in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar section taken in the plane of the line 3 y in Fig. 1, and looking in the opposite direction from the view in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a plan view, the key-board being removed. Fig. 6 is a detached sectional view, illustrating more clearly the stop mechanism. Fig. Tis a detached view, showing a modification of the stop-lever.

Let A represent the foundation-board of a reed-organ action; B, the reed-board; O U,

the keys, and D the key-frame. These are arranged in substantially the usual manner.

E is the name-board, and F the back strip, which support and form bearings for the stop knobs or pulls G G G G G which are mounted in the usual way in said bearin gs.

H H represent dampers or mutes, hinged so as to close the cells in the reed-board and I I" l are swells or muffiers, arranged to close over the dampers. i

The parts above named are common to reedorgans and possess no special novelty in their arrangement.

Referring to Fig.- 6, which clearlyillustrates the mechanism which connects the stop-pull with a damper or swell, J is a flat triangular or bell-crank lever pivoted or fulcrumed in the back strip, or in some equivalent fixed part, as shown. One arm or corner of this lever is slitted to receive the slotted or forked end of a link or toggle, a, the'other end of which is A inafter.

hinged in a slot in the stem of the stop-pull. A pin, 1), passes through the corner of the lever J and engages the slot in the toggle. To the other arm of the leverJ is attached a rod, 5 5 c, which leads to and takes hold of the damper or swell. I make the levers of some thin material and arrange them in substantially the same vertical planes as the pulls, and below the latter, as shown. The rods for operating the swells and dam pers extend directly tothem from the levers. By this construction I avoid the use of the cranked rock-shafts commonly employed for communicating motion from the pull to the damper or swell. Unless made very heavy and clumsy, these rock-shafts are liable to twist, and they compel the, arrangement of all the operating-rods at the sides. When the stop-pull is drawn out, as indicated in the fulllines'inFig.6,the toggleaisbrought to a vertical position over the pin 1), the lever is depressed, and the damper or swell raised. When in this position thetoggle acts as a strut, and prevents the spring on the'swell from drawing back the pull and closing the swell. When the pull is pushed back the spring is permitted to close the swell or damper in the usual way. As a convenient means of attachment, a hook on the rod 0 is made to engage a notch cut in the arm of the lever J, but it may hook over apin therein. The slot in the linkniight also be made to engagea headed pin or screw driven in theside of the lever-arm, instead of playing in the slit in said arm.

In the arrangement shown the pull Gr is connected by a rod, 0, with the damper or mute H, thepull G by a rod, 0, with the swell or muffler I. The pull Gr operates the coupler, and will be referred to more particularly here- The pull G is connected by a rod. 0,- v with a swell 0r muffler, I',,and the pull Gis connected by a rod, 0, with the damper or mute H. Each of thepulls bein g provided alike with links a and leversJ, the general description of 5 Fig.6 will serve for all. v k

% Each of the swells or mufflers I l is provided with suitable arms or projections, d, whereby they may be raised simultaneously by the knee-swell. To accomplish this I mount roo rotatively on the board A a crankedrod orshaft, K, the cranks on which take under the arms d, and attach the usual knee-lever to the pendent extremity c. To lift the swell 1, however, simultaneously with the other two, I fix on its top a projecting arm,f, which extends forward and takes under the end of a similar arm, g, on the swell I. The effect of this is that when the latter swell is raised the arm 9 bears upon and depresses the arm f, and thus lifts the swell I.

I am aware that reed-organs have before been provided with mechanism whereby the swells may be lifted simultaneously and independently, but I am not aware that my hereindescribed mechanism for actuating the swells has ever before been known.

Another kneeswell is arranged to throw open both of the dampers or mutes H H, to produce a momentary fortissimo effect without drawing the stops G and G This consists of a cranked rod, L, provided with a knee or hand lever on its pendent end i. Its other or cranked end is connected by a rod,j, with an arm on the end of a cranked rod, M, which is rotatively mounted in bearings at the back of the back strip, (see Fig. 1,) its cranked central part extending across the backs of the levers J ,and taking under pins or projections it is in some of them. Thus, when the lever is operated or pressed to one side the long crank in the rod M, acting under the pins 7c, opens the dampers connected with the levers bearin g said pins. The stop-pulls are not disturbed bythis movement, as the slotted or forked ends of the links a permit the levers J to turn on their fulcrums without affecting the said pulls.

I will now describe the octave-coupler, which is set so as to be operative by means of the central pull, G and also bymeans of the cranked rod M, which takes under a pin on the levcrJ connected with the central pull.

N is a fulcrum-bar, which is hinged at one edge to some fixed part, as the bed-piece O. In this bar are hung or fulcrumed levers l l, which stand obliquely at about an angle of forty-five degrees with the axis of the keys, their front ends being arranged below adjustable depressions m, attached to the under side of the keys. The opposite ends of the levers have turned down pendants n, perforated to receive the ends oflevers o 0, which are hung or fulcrumed to the bed-piece 0. These levers are also arranged obliquely to the axis of the keys and atan anglcto the lever l, and theirfront or free ends rest upon collars or projections 10 on the tracker-pins q. These form a compound lever, the free ends of which take under keys an octave apart, and having the same letter, as C under 0 and B-flat under B-flat. Ihave shown but one pairof these levers arranged to connect two keys, (see Fig. 5,) as the others are merely duplicates of those shown. Any number of keys may, however, be thus provided. When the coupler is not in use the fulcrum-bar rests normally, as indicated in Fig. 3, andthe lever l is then so low that when the keyis depressed the depressor on will not reach or actuate it, but when it is desired to bring the coupler into play the free edge of the fulcrum-bar is raised, as indicated in Fig. 4:, and the pressure on thekey will then depressit, and through the medium of the connected lever 0 press down the tracker-pin of the key an oetave above. This forms a harmonic coupler, whereby the soundingofanygiven note sounds the note an octave above in the scale. I prefer to form checks or guides, between which to hang or mount the levers l and 0, by cutting kerfs or grooves in the inner orjuxtaposed faces of the bar N and bed-piece O, as shown and I also prefer to form the pendant a rigid with the lever l, as being more reliable and less liable to disarrangement than where the levers are flexibly connected.

The fulcrum-bar is normally depressed by a spring, and to raise it I employ the following mechanism: A rod, 7', extends along under the free edge of the fulcrum-bar or under projections on the same, said rod being journaled at its ends so as to be rotative, and provided with cranks or cams 8. When the rod is rotated these cranks or cams raise the fulcrum bar, as indicated in Fig. 4. There may be one or more of these cranks or cams, but for convenience I prefer several, arranged at different points under the bar. The end of the rod 0 is provided with a crank, t, and this crank is connected by a rod, to, with a crank, v, on the extremity of a rod or shaft, to, arranged to rotate in bearings at the back of the strip F, as shown in Fig.1. At the other end of the shaft 20 is a crank, a, the arm of which takes over the lever J connected with the pull G Thus it will be seen that when the pull G (which I call the harmonic stop) is drawn out the coupler is set to operate through the medium of the various mechanical devices just described.

As before stated, the coupler mechanism may also be set so as to be operative through the cranked rod M without drawing out the pull G but this is intended mainly for momentary or swell effects.

The method of raising the fulcrum-bar by means of a cranked rod or rod provided with cams is a common method of elevating, and any ordinary and equivalent'method ot' raising thefulcraof the levers might be substituted for that shown.

I denominate G the diapason stop; G, the II forte, G the harmonic, G the I forte, and G, the flute, but the same principles of operation may be employed to give voice to any set or sets of reeds, or to produce muffled or crescendo tones or effects of any kind.

In lieu of the bell-crank form for the lever J, I may employ a straight lever, as shown in Fig. 7, and hook the rods 0 directly into this, but the triangular or bell-crank form is pre ferred, or I may attach the rods 0 c to'the pins 70. Where a straight lever is employed, as in Fig. 7, the pin may be dispensed with.

The depressor m is made adjustable with reference to the lever l of the coupler by cut ICC ting a screw-thread on its shank, whereby it may be screwed into the under side of the key, as clearly indicated in Fig. 4.

The valves of the organ are arranged in the 5 usual way, and are operated by means of the tracker-pins under the keys.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination, with the reed-board and i0 dampers H H of a reed-organ, of. the two short swells I 1, arranged side by side and adapted to be lifted independently, and the former provided with an arm, f, which extends over the reed-board, and the swell I, ar- 1 5 ranged to be raised independently of the swell I, and provided with an arm, g, which ex tends back over the reed-board and takes over the free extremityof the arm f, all arranged substantially as and for the purposes set forth. 2o 2. The combination, with the cranked rod or shaft L, of a the connecting-rod j, the cranked rod M, and the lever or levers J, arranged beneath the pulls and connected therewith by means of a slotted link or toggle, the said 2 5 cranked rod being arranged to take under the end of the lever or a pin',k, in the same, substantially as set forth.

3. The harmonic-coupler mechanism consisting of the lever l, fulcrumed in a hinged red u, the shaft w, the pull G the link a, and

its lever J, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing 5 witnesses.

LEVI K. FULLER.

Witnesses:

W. H. CHILDS, J. E. HALL. 

